Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Rev. 10-90)
United States Department of the Interior RECEIVED 2280 National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES ' -41986 REGISTRATION FORM NAT REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NATIONAL PARK SERVICE This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations f s. See instructions in How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the information requested. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items.
1. Name of Property historic name Alfred and Clara Sevareid House other names/site number 32MH292
2. Location street & number 405 Second Street West D not for publication N/A city or town ___Velva______D vicinity N/A state North Dakota______code ND county McHenry code 049 zip code 58790
3. State/Federal Agency Certification
As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1986, as amended, I hereby certify that this El nomination D request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property El meets D does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant D nationally n statewide El locally. ( Qt9p$ continuation sheet for additional comments.)
Signature of certifying official/Title dame's E. Sperry Date State Historic Preservation Officer (North Dakota)
State or Federal agency and bureau ______
In my opinion, the property a meets a does not meet the National Register criteria. ( d See continuation sheet for additional comments.)
Signature of commenting or other official Date
State or Federal agency and bureau
4. National Park Service Certification
hereroy certify that this property is: Date of Action ^entered in the National Register n See continuation sheet, n determined eligible for the Entered in the National Register n See continuation sheet, National n determined not eligible for the National Register a removed from the National Register n other (explain): ______Alfred and Clara Sevareid House McHenry. ND Name of Property County and State
5. Classification Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count) (Check as many boxes as apply) (Check only one box) Contributing Noncontributing X private X building(s) 2______1______buildings _ public-local _ district ______sites _ public-State _ site ______structures public-Federal __ structure ______objects _ object 2______1______Total
Name of related multiple property listing Number of contributing resources previously (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing. listed in the National Register
N/A 0
6. Function or Use Historic Functions Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) (Enter categories from instructions)
DOMESTIC/sinaie dwelling DOMESTIC/sinaie dwelling
7. Description
Architectural Classification Materials (Enter categories from instructions) (Enter categories from instructions) BUNGALOW/CRAFTSMAN foundation SANDSTONE walls WOOD/weatherboard
roof ASPHALT other Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) Alfred and Clara Sevareid House McHenrv. ND Name of Property County and State
8. Statement of Significance Applicable National Register Criteria Areas of Significance (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria (Enter categories from instructions) qualifying the property for National Register listing) ARCHITECTURE_____ n A Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.
CH B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. Period of Significance IS C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics 1913______of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. Significant Dates 1913 d D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield information important in prehistory or history.
Criteria Considerations Significant Person (Mark "X" in all the boxes that apply.) (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) N/A______Property is: D A owned by a religious institution or used for Cultural Affiliation religious purposes. ____N/A______
D B removed from its original location.
DC a birthplace or a grave. Architect/Builder A. W. NELSON. BUILDER D D a cemetery ______n E a reconstructed building, object or structure, n F a commemorative property. n G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years.
Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) 9. Major Bibliographical References Bibliography (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NFS): Primary location of additional data: n preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested. E3 State Historic Preservation Office D previously listed in the National Register D Other State agency D previously determined eligible by the National Register D Federal agency D designated a National Historic Landmark D Local government n recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey D University # E Other D recorded by Historic American Engineering Record Name of repository: #______MINOT PUBLIC LIBRARY______Alfred and Clara Sevareid House McHenry. ND Name of Property County and State
10. Geographical Data______
Acreage of Property less than one acre
UTM References (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet)
1 14 356143 5324715 3 Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing
2 4 Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing D See continuation sheet. Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.)
Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.)
11. Form Prepared By______name/title Betty Mertz and Jerry B. Stewart______organization State Historical Society of North Dakota date July 9. 1996______street & number 612 E. Boulevard Avenue______telephone (701)328-2672_____ city or town Bismarck______state ND____ zip code 58505-0830______
Additional Documentation______Submit the following items with the completed form:
Continuation Sheets
Maps A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location. A Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources.
Photographs Representative black and white photographs of the property.
Additional items (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items)
Property Owner______(Complete this item at the request of the SHPO or FPO.) name Jerry B. Stewart______street & number 1808 South Main Street #3______telephone (701)852-5846 city or town Minot______state ND zip code 58701______
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.).
Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Project (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503. 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 (Rev. 10-90)
United States Department of the Interior National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Page 1
Alfred and Clara Sevareid House McHenry County, ND
Description
House The Alfred and Clara Sevareid House (32 MH 292) is located at 405 Second Street West in Velva, North Dakota. It is the second house north on Fourth Avenue and on the west side of Second Street. The home is located in portions of Lots 1 and 2, Block 1 of Petterson's Fifth Addition to the City of Velva. The surrounding area is a well-kept residential neighborhood located northwest of the central business district. The grounds are well maintained. Some of the oak and ash trees have been removed due to disease and new ones have been planted. The house and garage are contributing resources. The garage is located on the northwest corner of the lot. A third building on the site, a playhouse built in 1994, is a noncontributing resource.
The Sevareid House is a one-and-one-half-story, wood-frame building, basically rectangular in shape with a front-gabled, low-pitch roof. There are two shed roof dormers, one on the south and other on the north elevation. Added decoration includes curved rafter ends in the eaves. Five-inch clapboard siding painted red with white trim covers the exterior. A brick chimney is centrally located on the asphalt shingled roof. It is apparent that the rear porch was enclosed at an early but unknown date. Five wooden steps with wrought-iron handrails lead to the enclosed rear entrance of the main floor. The Sevareids added a library addition to the rear during the 1910s and probably enclosed the front porch at the same time. The east- facing front gable features an enclosed sunporch and a band of four, single-hung, nine-over-one windows in the second story, and a thick horizontal decoration. On the wooden trim are four wooden carved rosettes or flowerettes. The south elevation displays a three-window bay.
The original mortared sandstone walls are part of the full basement. Flat concrete walls came later when the library was added. The entire basement floor is concrete. A detached wooden door in the basement has the name "Paul Sevareid" carved into it. The foundation outside has a veneer finish of concrete, which covers quarried sandstone. A common practice in early Velva was to have sandstone blocks mined at the stone quarry three miles southwest of Velva. "The blocks were cut by two expert Swedish stone masons, and the buildings were constructed by A. W. Nelson, contractor and builder, who built most of the early business blocks and residences of Velva" (Valley Star. 2). On the west side of the house, a shed roof entry leads down into the basement.
The interior of the home has been well preserved and complements the exterior. The main floor consists of seven rooms. From front to back, the room arrangement is: sunporch, living room-parlor, dining room, an added library, bathroom, kitchen, and an enclosed back porch. Oak floors are found throughout the house except in the kitchen, utility room, and rear entry. A carpeted oak staircase is centrally located between the kitchen and dining room. Walls are plaster and unaltered. The window frames, doors, and hardware are original throughout the house. 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 (Rev. 10-90)
United States Department of the Interior National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Page 2
Alfred and Clara Sevareid House McHenry County, ND
Description (continued)
Two globe fixtures light the doorway from the enclosed sunporch into the front entry. The original front door has been removed. A secondary vestibule door leading into the living room-parlor is made of solid oak and has a large beveled glass lite.
A large rectangular-shaped room, known as the living room-parlor, has hardwood floors covered with carpet. Original eight-inch-high oak mopboards are intact, as well as the wooden ceiling trim. To the right of the entrance, in this room, is a small bay. The original and unaltered three-sided oak window seat, flanked by Corinthian columns, contains the most exquisite woodwork in the house; they remain in excellent condition. From the seat, a three-sectioned window looks eastward into the sunporch.
To the left of the entrance in the living room-parlor, is another east-facing, large, single-pane window. Although the glass was replaced, the window frame is original. Two decorative, original radiators, still in good condition, one on each side of the room, are used to heat the room. The two matching-pattern light fixtures are made of stainless steel, crystal, and a very heavy frosted glass shade. They date from the late 1930s and appear in very good condition.
Separating the dining room from the living room-parlor is a flat archway trimmed in oak. Plastered walls feature oak plate rails and oak ceiling trim. A bay window projects outward on the south wall. The room also has wooden mopboards and a working radiator unit located below the center bay window. A hanging light fixture, in excellent condition, displays the same pattern and style as the two light fixtures in the living room. Original and in good condition is the burled oak flooring in both the library and dining room. Separating these two rooms are elegant seven-foot oak French doors with copper and brass hardware each with nine panes of beveled glass. Wooden crown molding separates the plaster ceiling and walls. The library has two windows: one faces south and a French window faces west. The enclosed frosted-glass light fixture has a copper mounting.
Located between the library and the kitchen is the pantry. Here are impressive, original oak cupboards with handles and hinges. Two sturdy three-foot pullout drawers under the central counter top once held 100-pound sacks of flour and sugar. The right and left upper cabinets have framed glass doors. All are in fine condition. A western-style hanging copper lantern from the 1950s hangs from the ceiling. A one- over-one window provides a view of the backyard.
Beside the pantry area, the small kitchen has its original doorways, windows, plaster walls, and ceiling. The original sink is stored in the basement. The remainder of the room was renovated in 1986.
Through the kitchen is a small enclosed back porch which has a north-facing, single one-over-one window and a beaded board ceiling. 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 (Rev. 10-90)
United States Department of the Interior National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Page
Alfred and Clara Sevareid House McHenry County, ND
Description (continued)
Other alterations in the house include a closet in the library that was renovated into a tiny half bath. The sunporch was completely enclosed by a short supporting wall and sixteen nine-over-one windows. The current owner believes the Sevareids enclosed the formerly open porch for additional warmth and space. The sunporch has a carpeted hardwood floor and a beaded board ceiling. The ceilings in the dining room and living room-parlor have non-original one-foot square tiles adhered to the original plaster ceiling, which does not detract from the rooms. Fuel oil heating replaced the coal furnace.
The carpeted hardwood stairway is L-shaped but has three landings. The first landing is accessed from the kitchen and the living room. At the second landing is a one-over-one window that faces the back yard. The banister and railing are made of oak and remain in good condition.
On the second floor, there are two bedrooms with closets, a small utility room, bathroom and hall. The master bedroom contains a larger walk-in closet while the children's bedroom closet is very small. Slanted ceilings, radiator heat, and woodwork and mopboards currently painted white, are common to both rooms. The master bedroom features plastered walls while the children's bedroom walls are papered. The hallway with its eight-foot plaster ceiling and wood trim contains two closets. Currently used as a utility and sewing room, a small room near the stairway was originally used as a boarder's sleeping room.
The upstairs bathroom contains the original clawfoot bathtub and is in excellent condition. The sink and toilet have been replaced. The wood in this room has been painted and the walls are papered. The ceiling is plaster and contains the attic entrance. A bead board door opens to a small linen closet. A one-over-one window looks onto the back yard.
Garage While the exact date of construction is unknown, the garage was built in the same time period as the house. The rectangular, wood-frame, gable-roof, single-bay garage has a dirt floor and five-inch clapboard siding which matches the house. The narrow width of the building does not allow for today's larger vehicles, so its current use is storage. A non-original lean-to on the southeast corner of the garage was removed in 1993 and materials recycled to make a playhouse.
Playhouse A concrete-block foundation supports the small rectangular wood-frame playhouse. The walls and shed roof are painted plywood sheets. An east-facing single-lite window is located to the left of the door.
The property is in excellent condition and the alterations to the house and garage do not compromise its historical integrity and significance. 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Rev. 10-90)
United States Department of the Interior National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Continuation Sheet
Section number 8 Page 4
Alfred and Clara Sevareid House McHenry County, ND
Statement of Significance
Nominated under National Register Criteria C, the Alfred and Clara Sevareid house is the best example of all the Craftsman Bungalow in the community of Velva. The property retains most overall original architectural features of this style on the exterior and interior.
Velva was architecturally inventoried in 1987 and eight Craftsman bungalows were identified. The eight properties were re-examined in preparation of this nomination and the Alfred and Clara Sevareid house was evaluated by the staff of the State Historic Preservation Officer to have the highest integrity.
According to American Architecture Since 1780. 'The true bungalow is a small single-story house; the roof space may be made usable by a solitary dormer or by windows in the gables, but anything approaching a full second story disqualifies the building for the title of bungalow" (Whiffen, 217).
In A Field Guide to American Houses. McAlester notes the Craftsman bungalow was popular in the United States 1905-1930. Identifying features of this style include: "Low-pitched, gabled roof., with wide, unenclosed eave overhang; roof rafters usually exposed; decorative (false) beams or braces commonly added under gables; porches, either full- or partial-width ... The most common wall cladding is wood clapboard ... " (McAlester, 453, 454). The Alfred and Clara Sevareid house displays the low- pitched front-gabled roof with decorative braces, a dormer on each the right and left sides of the roof, and the full-width porch. The porch was enclosed by the Sevareids in the late 1910s.
Inside bungalow, "front doors opened directly into living rooms, which were often, in turn, directly connected to the dining room or dining area. In many instances the two spaces were separated only by a half wall" (Poppeliers, 77). The Sevareid house also displayed these characteristics.
Judging by the appearance of the house, Alfred Sevareid may have purchased his house plans from a pattern book or from a company offering bungalow construction packages. The ornamental flowerettes on the front of the Sevareid house, the decorative rafter ends in the eaves, and the high quality woodwork of the interior give clues that this house may have been a pattern book house. These design elements are not apparent on the other seven bungalow residences in Velva. Stevenson and Jandl note:
. . families turned to Sears, Roebuck and Company earlier in this century for one of their most important purchases: their homes. Between 1908 and 1940 Sears was the place to find not only everything to fill an American home; it also manufactured and sold the houses themselves-approximately 450 ready-to-assemble designs from mansions to bungalows and even summer cottages. Ordered by mail and sent by rail. . these popular houses were meant to fill a need for sturdy, inexpensive and, especially, modern homes-complete with such desirable conveniences as indoor plumbing and electricity. 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 (Rev. 10-90)
United States Department of the Interior National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Continuation Sheet
Section number 8 Page 5
Alfred and Clara Sevareid House McHenry County, ND
Statement of Significance (continued)
Sears was not the only American company to manufacture or sell houses through mail-order catalogs, nor was it the only company to sell house designs. The Hodgson Company,
Aladdin Homes and Montgomery Ward all had their start in the housing business between 1895 and 1910. Sears, however, was the largest: Its sales reached 30,000 houses by 1925 and nearly 50,000 by 1930, more than any other mail-order company.
Sears provided precut lumber at a time when power tools were almost unknown, as well as a complete set of specifications and instructions to aid in construction. Because owners were directly involved with design selection and actual construction, they were especially proud of their Sears houses once they were erected (Stevenson, 19).
Local contractors were hired to construct pattern-book houses. A. W. Nelson, who was hired by Alfred and Clara to construct their Craftsman home, may have been working from such plans.
History McHenry County was created by the Territorial legislature in January 1873 and the county government was organized on October 15, 1884. In 1886 the county seat was moved to Towner from Scriptown, a community without a railroad line. The name of Scriptown disappeared from the map and the name of Velva was chosen in 1905. "The earliest white settler on record, where the present City of Velva is located was August Peterson, an emigrant from Sweden, who filed on this land about 1882 or 1883" (Valley Star. 1). Velva sits in a valley just at the bend where the Souris River (also known as the Mouse River) turns north and makes its way back to Canada. "... It is assumed that the green and velvety appearance of the valley inspired the railroad officials to choose the name 'Velva, the only geographical name of that kind in the world, with the exception of a small river in the northeastern part of Siberia'" (Valley Star. 1).
Many Norwegians, Canadians, and Germans were drawn to settle in Velva for the fertile crop land and plentiful water supply. The town's newspaper noted, "Hardly any city in North Dakota, or anywhere, has such a fine and pure water supply as Velva at such low cost. It is an asset of the greatest importance" (Valley Star. 1).
The last week of April 1904, a terrible and sudden flood brought great ruin and destruction to Velva when an icejam broke loose filling the Mouse River Valley with water for about 200 miles. Many new residences were erected after the town dried in June; Velva continued to grow. 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Rev. 10-90)
United States Department of the Interior National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Continuation Sheet
Section number 8 Page
Alfred and Clara Sevareid House McHenry County, ND
Statement of Significance (continued)
Velva's existence was dependent upon the farming community where wheat was king. "Here in the valley, wheat was the soul source and the meaning of their lives; setting and scenery and ever present in their conversation" (Sevareid video).
"The year of 1910 brought the first real crop failure to the Velva trade territory, with a crippling affect, not only to the farmers, but to the business people as well" (Valley Star. 6). In spite of a drought the following year too, Velva continued to advance.
In the Velva City Park, a large pavilion, band stand, and baseball diamond were built and they became the pride of Velva. There were three hotels, a livery stable, a blacksmith, six grain elevators, two feed mills, and a creamery; plus coal mines and stone quarries in the vicinity. The railroads shipped out wheat, flax, cattle, coal, and stone. Land was worth ten to fifteen dollars an acre unimproved and twice as much plowed. Mail came daily and telephones were just being installed. A power plant and electric lighting were in the works -- and then, inevitably, motion picture shows (Schroth, 6).
Entertainment consisted of traveling shows at the opera house, minstrel and medicine shows, chautaquas, small circuses, Velva Cornet Band, dances, baseball, swimming, hiking, and the local ventriloquist who specialized in practical jokes. The town of 837 population thrived.
The Sevareids A biographer described Eric Sevareid's family history: . . . Alfred Eric Sevareid, who was born in Kenyon, Minnesota, in 1882 moved due north fifteen miles up to Velva from Ruso ... in 1909. In Ruso, where he had lived for two years after graduating from college, he had been a homesteader, but also worked in a bank and in real estate. He had come to Ruso by way of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where he had been a star athlete.
It was in Decorah that Al met and married Clara Pauline Elizabeth Hougen. She was the daughter of an itinerant Lutheran minister of the Norwegian Lutheran Synod. Johan Olai Jensen Hougen (1857-1927) . . . married Thrine in 1882 while he was a pastor in Fargo, North Dakota. Clara was born in Fargo.
The Reverend Hougen, who had also been educated at Luther College and seminary, was one of the pillars of the Norwegian-American community. He had come to America from a farm in Norway in 1857 when he was six years old. He was known as one of the founders of Concordia College, a scholar, traveler, and journalist ....
In his move to Velva, where he was to take a job as cashier, and then become a vice 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 (Rev. 10-90)
United States Department of the Interior National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Continuation Sheet
Section number 8 Page 7
Alfred and Clara Sevareid House McHenry County, ND
Statement of Significance (continued)
president of the Merchants State Bank, Alfred was following his Ruso friend, Bill Francis, who the year before had moved up to Velva to take over the weekly newspaper, the Velva Journal. Clara Sevareid was a tall, elegant, forceful woman, who knew how to dress beautifully, to give the impression she was a "Victorian princess," who might have had servants but was actually a hard-working middle-class housewife . . . and she had her own ideas about educating her children. Rather than introduce them to the standard children's nursery rhymes . . she started them out on Shakespeare and classical music (Schroth, 3-5, 9-10).
As a member of the Velva Women's Club, Clara helped establish the town library and instilled her love of books to her children.
Four children were born to Alfred and Clara. Paul (1910-), Arnold Eric (1912-1992), John (1915-1986), and Jeanne (1922-). The birth of Arnold Eric Sevareid on November 26, 1912, was announced in the local newspaper dated November 28, 1912: "A. E. Sevareid is wearing a broad smile this week owing to the safe arrival of a new democrat at his home, who put in his appearance Tuesday night" (McHenry County Journal. 5). "Shortly after Arnold was born, the family moved ... to a new brown-and-white shingled bungalow, built by his father in 1913, at 405 Second Street, the second house from the corner" (Schroth, 8).
Within a year, the intermittent droughts were taking a toll on the community: In the years of the First World War, the demand and prices of wheat soared and it seemed like the bonanza would go on forever. Wheat Rush; so recklessly plowed and planted; the same crop year after year. Then the rains ceased. Dry and desolate high prairie winds transferred the dust into far-a-way places. The World War One boom was over; taxes went up; income went down; farms were lost. Farm auctions were a familiar and dreaded site. Common dependence on wheat made everyone equal. Tough and patient people made it through those dreaded years. (Sevareid video)
The occasional bad years were enough to ruin a string of North Dakota banks, including Alfred Sevareid's. [With the sale of the house to Fred Wrucke in 1924, Alfred moved his family to Minot.] After a year, the family moved again this time to Minneapolis, where they finally settled into a big frame house, larger than their Velva bungalow, in a middle- class neighborhood . . .
In his 1946 autobiography, Not So Wild a Dream. Sevareid offers very little explanation of exactly why the family left Velva. He tells us his mother "who came from a green and pleasant city in the distant, mystical East," in Iowa feared and hated the fact that wheat so absolutely controlled their lives as "our solace and our challenge." [For Alfred], "years 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 (Rev. 10-90)
United States Department of the Interior National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Continuation Sheet
Section number 8 Page
Alfred and Clara Sevareid House McHenry County, ND
Statement of Significance (continued)
of drought ruined his wheatlands and broke his bank." Years later the sons learned that the father [Alfred] . . . had blamed himself rather than fate for the bank's failure and tried to make up some of the farmers' losses from his own savings (Schroth, 11).
At the time of his death in October 1953, Alfred Sevareid was vice president and secretary of the Federal Intermediate Credit Bank in St. Paul. He had sufficiently restored the family fortune to leave Clara financially secure until her death in a Minneapolis nursing home in October 1969.
Arnold Eric went on to a distinguished career as a wartime broadcaster in Europe, an author, and a CBS correspondent. Eric Sevareid received North Dakota's highest honor, the Teddy Roosevelt Rough Rider Award in 1964. In his book, Not So Wild a Dream. Eric Sevareid made numerous references to his boyhood home in Velva. He spoke highly about the contribution to his life of this town nestled in the velvety hill of the Mouse River basin. He wrote, All that America truly meant, all that Americans had perished for, would be devoid of consequence or portent unless the image of society that America showed the world was that of the little Velvas as I had known, remembered and cherished them (Sevareid, 515).
Between the years of 1924 and 1992, the house exchanged ownership five times, with Jerry Stewart of Minot being the current owner.
During the Velva Founders Day Centennial celebration, Mr. Stewart held an open house for public viewing of the Alfred and Clara Sevareid House. Mr. Stewart continues to maintain the house and property. 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 (Rev. 10-90)
United States Department of the Interior National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Continuation Sheet
Section number 9 Page 9
Alfred and Clara Sevareid House McHenry County, ND
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Eric Sevareid's "Not So Wild A Dream." The American Experience, CPB, 1988. Videocassette.
McAlester, Virginia and Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1989.
McHenry County Journal. November 28, 1912, p. 5.
North Dakota Centennial Blue Book. Published by Legislative Authority Ben Meier, Sec. of State, 1989.
Poppeliers, John C., S. Alien Chambers, Jr. and Nancy B. Schwartz. What Style Is It? A Guide To American Architecture. Washington, D.C., The Preservation Press, 1983.
Schroth, Raymond A. The American Journey of Eric Sevareid. South Royalton, Vermont: Steerforth Press, 1995.
Sevareid, Eric Not So Wild a Dream. 1946. 2nd ed. New York: Atheneum, 1976.
Stevenson, Katherine Cole and H. Ward Jandl. Houses By Mail. A Guide to Houses from Sears, Roebuck and Company. Washington, DC: Preservation Press, 1989.
The McHenry County Abstract Company. Towner, ND. Recorded in Book "45" of Mtgs. Recorded in Book "78" of Deeds.
Valley Star. Special Issue Velva Founders Day Centennial supplement to May 5, 1993 edition. Microfilm #13217. First part of history taken from A Brief History of Velva by Oscar Anderson. Centennial Special Section p. 1 col. 1-2; p. 2 col. 1; p. 6 col. 2-3.
Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780: A Guide to the Styles. Rev. ed. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1992.
Wick, Douglas A. North Dakota Place Names. Bismarck, ND: Hebemarken Collectibles, 1988. 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Rev. 10-90)
United States Department of the Interior National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Continuation Sheet
Section number 10 Page 10
Alfred and Clara Sevareid House Me Henry County, ND
Geographical Data
Verbal Boundary Description The nominated property is bounded by the legal description as recorded in the McHenry County Register of Deeds Office: One-third of Lot 1 and the south 25 feet of Lot 2, Block 1, Petterson's Fifth Addition to the City of Velva, North Dakota, in the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 22, Township 153 North, Range 80 West. The nominated property measures 75 feet by 100 feet.
Boundary Justification The boundary of the nominated property includes the house, garage, playhouse, and the grounds historically associated with the property.